Virginia Democrats Want to Force Subsidized Housing Down Virginia Suburbanites’ Throats

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Dec 27, 2019

Virginia Democrats want to undermine local zoning by establishing high-density housing in every neighborhood statewide. Public housing will also be included in this high-density scheme.

And here’s the catch—residents will have to accept these arrangements whether they like it or not.

The Daily Caller reported that Virginia House Delegate Ibraheem Samirah introduced this bill, which would quickly transform suburban housing and pave the way for social disruption by allowing duplexes and similar high-density housing units be built in otherwise quiet suburban neighborhoods.

Supporters of “upzoning” say these reforms are necessary because suburbs are hubs “of segregation and elitism.” Additionally, they argue that suburbs are bad for the environment.

This proposal will likely meet fierce opposition from people who have created quiet neighborhoods according to their resident’s preferences.

Taking advantage of Democrat’s recent gains in the Virginia legislature, Ibraheem Samirah introduced the upzoning bill along with five others on December 19, 2019.

“Today I introduced six new bills dealing with affordable housing supply and exclusionary zoning practices,” Samirah posted on Facebook. “The most impactful bill, HB152, would legalize two-unit housing types on any lot zoned for single-family use only.”

“Because middle housing is what’s most affordable for low-income people and people of color, banning that housing in well-off neighborhoods chalks up to modern-day redlining, locking folks out of areas with better access to schools, jobs, transit, and other services and amenities,” he continued.

“Single-family zoning is also the least efficient way to organize communities, leading to a much larger carbon footprint. … I will certainly get pushback for this. Some will call it ‘state overreach.’ Some will express anxiety about neighborhood change. Some may even say that the supply issue doesn’t exist. But the research is clear: zoning is a barrier to more housing and integrated communities,” Samirah wrote.

He tweeted last Sunday that that would include public housing. “Important Q about new social/public housing programs: where are we going to put the units? Under current zoning, new low-income housing is relegated to underinvested neighborhoods, concentrating poverty more. Ending exclusionary zoning has to be part of broader housing reform,” he stated.

The chairman of the Fairfax County Republican Committee, Tim Hannigan, argues that urban Democrats are waging war against the suburbs.

“This could completely change the character of suburban residential life, because of the urbanization that would develop,” he told The Daily Caller. “So much of the American dream is built upon this idea of finding a nice quiet place to raise your family, and that is under assault.”

“This is a power-grab to take away the ability of local communities to establish their own zoning practices … literally trying to change the character of our communities,” he added.

Hannigan contended that suburbs cannot handle increased traffic and “inevitably it will just push people to places where they feel they’ll get away from that, they may move to West Virginia to get their little plot of land.”

The PC Left never rests in its mission to uproot every functioning part of society.

By imposing high-density housing via state fiat, radicals in Virginia want to trample over the local rights of citizens and instead use top-down policies to mover their social engineering forward.

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